1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus for executing an image process on read image data and for storing the executed image data, and an image processing system including an image processing apparatus such as a personal computer or a printer capable of responding to direct printing. Particularly, the present invention relates to an image recording apparatus and an image processing system capable of automatically and simply executing an image process such as distortion aberration correction or peripheral light intensity correction.
2. Description of Related Art
Digital still cameras which are capable of recording a photographed object as digital data have been hitherto known. According to an apparatus like the digital camera, it is common that photographed image data are stored in a memory located in a body of the apparatus and are picked up as circumstances demand, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-230999 (hereinafter referred to as “reference 1”). That is, image data can be transferred to and from an external device by way of transmission.
Conventionally, in image recording apparatuses for executing an image process on read image data and for recording the processed data, various image processes are executed on the image data to record the processed data.
A process such as distortion aberration correction or peripheral light intensity correction may be executed on image data as need arises. As a distortion aberration correction process, generally known is a table look-up method where a lens distortion aberration rate is predetermined at each focusing point and zoom position, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H9-294225 (hereinafter referred to as “reference 2”). In the reference 2, it is described that a plural set of corresponding photographed points are detected from plural images including common patterns, which are photographed at one spot by means of an image pick-up apparatus such as a digital camera, then angles formed by these correspondent photographed points and the optical axis of the image pick-up system of the image pick-up apparatus are calculated, then parameters for correcting distortion of the image is estimated based on the information of the calculated angles.
Further, as described in Japanese Patent No. 3461061 (hereinafter referred to as “reference 3”), a correction process which uses the cosine fourth law known as an extinction rate is generally known as a peripheral light intensity correction process. In the reference 3, it is described that an apparatus includes a diaphragm control means for controlling a diaphragm stop in a photographic lens system, a compensating filter located in the photographic lens system, capable of variably controlling density applied to a neighborhood of a center of an image circle, and a filter control means for controlling the compensating filter in conjunction with the a diaphragm control means in order to compensate degradation of peripheral light intensity caused by degradation of aperture efficiency at a neighborhood of opening diaphragm.
However, in these conventional apparatuses and processes there exists a disadvantage where process data need to be transmitted between apparatuses and consequently the process becomes complicated. That is, in the conventional process for transmitting image data from an image recording apparatus to an image processing apparatus, a user manually selects an image file and process software for the image processing apparatus, so that it takes trouble in executing the process.